Laws & Treaties

Question 1

What does the Lacey Act (1900) do?

Answer 1

Regulates interstate transfer of wildlife

Question 2

What did the Endangered Species Preservation Act (1966) do?

Answer 2

• Authorized listing of 77 species, mostly vertebrates

- Authorized land acquisition

Question 3

What did the Endangered Species Conservation Act (1969) do?

Answer 3

• Expanded list (worldwide species and invertebrates)

- Required measures to enlist international agreement

Question 4

What was the Endangered Species Act of 1973?

Answer 4

• Most far-reaching wildlife statute ever adopted by any nation
• Recognizes that species are of “aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value to the nation and its people.”
• Purpose is to bring about the recovery of endangered and threatened species, whatever the cost.

Question 5

Endangered species

Answer 5

any species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range

Question 6

Threatened species

Answer 6

any species likely to become endangered in the forseeable future

Question 7

What is “critical habitat”?

Answer 7

Specific geographic areas with physical and biological features essential to the conservation of a listed species

Question 8

Decision to list species is based soley on…

Answer 8

biological evidence (economic factors not relevant)

Question 9

What are the 5 factors considered in determining whether a species is endangered or threatened?

Answer 9

1) Present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of the species range or habitat
2) Overuse for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes
3) Disease or predation
4) Inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms
5) Other natural or man-made factors affecting the continued existence of the species

Question 10

Explain the listing process.

Answer 10

1) Petition FWS to list, delist, or reclassify a species
2) FWS evaluates petition for substantive data and, within 90 days, must publish the petition in the Federal Register (statute mandates rapid consideration for petitions)
3) FWS must make a determination on the petition within 12 months from the date it was received

Question 11

Goals of recovery:

Answer 11

1) Reduce or eliminate threats to listed animals and plants
2) Restore self-sustaining wild populations
3) Remove species from the list

Question 12

Recovery Plans

Answer 12

• Develop with stakeholders
• Identify recovery strategy
• Identify tasks and partners
• Establish delisting/downlisting criteria
• Provide timetable and cost estimate
• May address multiple species
• Recovered species are monitored for 5 years

Question 13

Section 7 of the ESA requires Federal agencies to:

Answer 13

• Conduct programs to conserve endangered and threatened species
• Ensure that actions they authorize, fund, or carry out are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of listed species or adversely modify critical habitat.

Question 14

In a Safe Harbor Agreement the landowner agrees to…

Answer 14

take actions to benefit listed species on their land.

Question 15

In a Safe Harbor Agreement FWS assures…

Answer 15

no additional restrictions will be imposed as species populations improve

Question 16

What are Safe Harbor Agreements?

Answer 16

Voluntary agreements for recovering listed species open to any non-Federal landowner that encourages landowners to improve conditions for listed species on their land; Can create long-term benefits for species beyond period of agreement.

Question 17

What are some problems with the ESA?

Answer 17

• The number of endangered species is too large for them to be successfully dealt with one at a time.
• USFWS does not have a large enough budget to ensure the successful recovery of all listed and candidate species
• Used primarily to protect the charismatic megafauna, even if only a population or subspecies is under threat
• Species are not given protection until they are already on their way to extinction (1000 ind left for animals, 100 for plants) making recovery very difficult, not guaranteed, and very expensive

Question 18

What are the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity?

Answer 18

The objectives are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from commercial and other utilization of genetic resources.

Question 19

What is the Convention on Biological Diversity?

Answer 19

The first global, comprehensive agreement to address all aspects of biological diversity: genetic resources, species and ecosystems

Question 20

What was the 2010 Biodiversity target of the CBD?

Answer 20

to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional, and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth

Question 21

Has the 2010 Biodiversity target been met?

Answer 21

No

• Projections show continuing and accelerating extinctions, habitat loss, changes in distribution and abundance of biodiversity
• High risk of dramatic biodiversity loss and degradation of services from tipping points

Question 22

What group of animals are, on average, the most threatened?

Answer 22

Amphibians

Question 23

Which species is moving most rapidly towards greater extinction risks?

Answer 23

Corals

Question 24

What is the current path for Amazon dieback?

Answer 24

• Widespread shift from forest to savanna resulting from the interaction of deforestation, climate change and fires
• Becomes more likely at 20-30% deforestation
• Self-perpetuating
• Regional rainfall and global climate impacts, massive biodiversity loss

Question 25

What is the alternative path for Amazon dieback?

Answer 25

• Keep deforestation below 20%-30% of original forest area
• Minimize use of fire for clearing
• Keep global climate warming below 2-3 degrees

Question 26

What is the current path for freshwater eutrophication?

Answer 26

• The buildup of nutrients from fertilizers and sewage shifts freshwater bodies into a eutrophic state causing:
  1) Low ozygen levels and widespread kills of plants, fish, invertebrates
  2) Loss of nutrition from fisheries, toxic blooms make water unfit for drinking or recreation

Question 27

What is the alternative path for freshwater eutrophication?

Answer 27

• Reduce nutrient inputs from sewage, detergents and agriculture
• Reforestation of watersheds
• Restoration of wetlands
• Economic incentives to close nutrient cycle on farms

Question 28

What is the current path for Coral reef collapse?

Answer 28

• Bleaching severe with temperature rise greater than 2 deg C
• Ocean acidification prevents corals from forming skeletons
• Reefs become degraded and algae-dominated
• Livelihood threat to hundreds of millions through loss of fisheries and tourism

Question 29

What is the alternative path for Coral reef collapse?

Answer 29

• Reduce local stressors including:
  1) Destructive fishing practices
  2) Coastal pollution
  3) Over-exploitation of herbivores such as sea urchins and fish
  4) Strict climate mitigation to keep CO2 levels below 450 ppm and 2 deg C

Question 30

Explain what happens when pressures are put on existing biodiversity.

Answer 30

The input of certain pressures pushes the existing biodiversity towards its tipping point. Outside actions from conservationists to increase biodiversity resilience until a threshold is reached. If pressures become too great, biodiversity is pushed over the tipping point and enters a self-perpetuating decline which is large lasting and hard to reverse until a change in biodiversity occurs resulting in fewer ecosystem services and degradation of human well-being.